I disagree, I think that's actually a bonus... what the Doctor and Companion(s) do all the time is dangerous, they are playing with fire, and this is one of the times they get caught out, its like Russian Roulette, if you keep putting yourself in danger then eventually your luck will run out, its inevitable, it add extra weight to all their adventures as anyone could take them out if things don't go their way.....

For me The Caves of Androzani is still the top regeneration story. I did like The End Of Time Part 2 as it did feel like an era was closing. Wilf Mott's tearful goodbye as he waves goodbye to the Doctor still gets a lump in my throat.

Doesn't matter to me whether the regeneration story is bad, a huge number of people will cry the Doctor to his sleep anyway.

I voted for The End of Time. It was, to me, dynamic and epic in all of the ways that it needed to be. I understand that The Caves of Androzani (sp?) is supposed to be amazing, but I just don't understand that. I have watched it a couple of times and it always o.k. or good to me, but not great. It just doesn't seem like all of that and a bag of chips. Maybe it is because I grew up with Tom Baker and not the Fifth Doctor, but I just cannot understand the adoration which the episode receives. C'e la vie. LOL! It is all a matter of taste, I guess.

For me what makes Caves of Androzani so great, it has great acting, the direction is phenomenal, it builds throughout with the tension, drama and all the storylines and relationships come to a head,

This story is not about monsters, it is about saving Peri, and everything that happens in this story is perfectly sums up the 5th Doctor era. This story is creepy, all of the characters in this episode were brilliantly written and the Doctor as neutral with both parties wanting him dead, simply triggers a chain reaction leading to utter carnage. And the Doctor's prime motive throughout, isn't helping a side win the war, but to just save Peri.

The structure of this story is faultless, it is intense, scary, heartbreaking and simply a masterpiece. And it is the most adult episode in the show if you ask me, which from my observations and experiences why i enjoy this episode even more when i was older rather than being younger. As it can fly over your head a bit, it did the first time i watched it. But upon rewatch later, i was simply amazed.

I also think this story is even better if you have watched the majority of the 5th Doctor's era, as it definitely sums up his era.

You bring up some interesting points. My main Doctor Who watching group will be finishing up Pertwee later this year (after over five years of watching a couple of episodes a week!). Once we get to Davison and watch them all in order, maybe I will like The Caves of Androzoni more given the lead up and the context. I'll let you know in about four years.

Another vote for Caves, as it's such a good story, and brilliantly directed by Graeme Harper. That he went out saving one person is entirely fitting for Peter's Doctor.

The same could be said for The End of Time. In fact, in that one, he didn't even die saving a beautiful, young female whom he had known for a long time. He died saving an old, old man who had already lived a full life, whom The Doctor barely knew (especially compared to how well he knew Peri). I think that this makes his death in The End of Time even that much more heroic.

looking back on Time Of The Doctor, i find it a tad rushed.

i feel like Moffat just stuck the Daleks in there to confront the Doctor to trigger the regen for the sake of it! Matt's Regen is still my all time fav but i find the ending rushed

The difference being that Regeneration just happened in Caves after he spilt some bat juice, whereas Ten's regeneration count down went on for ever, the warnings about 4 knocks in the previous Specials, the conversation in the cafe about how Regeneration was like dying, etc

To me the whole process was far too dragged out and designed to extract every last bit of emotion from the viewers, when sometimes less is more

Pretty much why I was never really moved by any of the "emotional" scenes throughout Series 1-4 and, to an extent, Amy and Rory's departure. It felt far too artificial.

Caves of Androzani managed to make Davison's exit a really heartbreaking thing without acting as though the show couldn't go on without him.

No current who has ever topped Davisons outing.

Caves.

A proper textbook example of "less is more". Unbeatable.

Yeah, it's gotta be Caves. I think Baker is a bit cheesy in it though.

What about this then?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vuf6...etailpage#t=71

Also this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjSfAub8zgw

And a slightly better regeneration for the War Doctor, featuring the 2005-2009 Time Vortex:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO3veBHQ7aQ

I really like this, too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI3iFPyX83Q

Wish they'd done something like this, but what they did do was good enough.

I just rewatched The End of Time Parts One and Two and I still think that it is the best regeneration serial. I know that there is about 10 minutes towards the end of good-byes, but, like The Lord of The Rings, I am willing to accept that at the end of an epic. It was still amazing and, to me, it reaches a level of of epic-ness and awesomeness that none of the other regeneration stories have been able to touch.

Anyways, enjoy!

I haven't seen Logopolis yet, but of all I have seen, Caves of Androzani is the best as a story in its own right.